AUTHOR=Yao Huibao , Lyu Feifei , Ma Jian , Sun Fengze , Tang Gonglin , Wu Jitao , Zhou Zhongbao 

TITLE=PIMREG is a prognostic biomarker involved in immune microenvironment of clear cell renal cell carcinoma and associated with the transition from G1 phase to S phase

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Oncology

VOLUME=13

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/oncology/articles/10.3389/fonc.2023.1035321

DOI=10.3389/fonc.2023.1035321

ISSN=2234-943X

ABSTRACT=<sec><title>Background</title><p>Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is one of the most common tumors in the world and affects human health seriously. <italic>PIMREG</italic> is a mitotic regulator which is essential to the metaphase-to-anaphase transition in cell cycle. Although <italic>PIMREG</italic> plays a crucial role in the malignant progression of tumors, there are few reports on its role in ccRCC.</p></sec><sec><title>Methods</title><p>The transcriptional expression profile and clinical data of <italic>PIMREG</italic> were downloaded from TCGA database and verified by qRT-PCR. Kaplan-Meier plotter was used to analyze the effect of <italic>PIMREG</italic> on overall survival (OS), disease specific survival (DSS) and progression-free interval (PFI) of patients with ccRCC. Univariable and multivariable Cox regression analysis were used to determine the independent prognostic factors of ccRCC. The effects of <italic>PIMREG</italic> on cell migration and invasion were detected by wound healing assay and transwell invasion assay, and CCK-8 assay, colony formation assay and cell cycle assay were used to detect the effect of <italic>PIMREG</italic> on cell proliferation. In addition, the changes in cell cycle related proteins were detected by western blot.</p></sec><sec><title>Results</title><p><italic>PIMREG</italic> was highly expressed in human ccRCC and was positively correlated with pathologic stage, TNM stage and histologic grade. In addition, patients with high expression of <italic>PIMREG</italic> had a poor prognosis. Univariable and multivariable Cox regression analysis identified that <italic>PIMREG</italic> was an independent prognostic factor of ccRCC. Additionally, <italic>PIMREG</italic> was also closely related to immune cell infiltration. Experiments <italic>in vitro</italic> identified that the knockdown of <italic>PIMREG</italic> could significantly inhibit the proliferation, migration and invasion abilities of ccRCC. The expression of cyclin D1, CDK4 and CDK6 was also significantly reduced after <italic>PIMREG</italic> knockdown.</p></sec><sec><title>Conclusions</title><p><italic>PIMREG</italic> plays a vital role in the development of ccRCC and may become a potential therapeutic target in the future.</p></sec>